If a property company offered to fly you to Portugal for free so you can just look at properties, would you expect it to really be free? Clearly the company that does this has to make its money back, and there’s one company that has been accused of pressure selling to customers once they are on the ground.

KBS Property Investments (or KBS Overseas Property or any other names it operates under) is the company in question and perhaps the criticisms are unfair. After all, the company has been up-front about how it works. You get to Portugal, you find a property you would like to buy and you then put down a reservation fee to start the ball rolling.

If you are offered a free holiday in Portugal and you know you have to spend time with salesmen trying to get the company’s money back, all well and good. The question is whether that company is treating customers fairly or whether it is pressuring them into paying reservation fees without guarantee.

In its property pack, it say, as part of the buying process, “In order to take a property off the market a standard € 6000 reservation fee is required, which the lawyers will perform on your behalf.” Standard? If it’s standard, how come no law says the reservation fee is needed and how come no other companies charge that fee?

KBS is perhaps above board, but when anyone criticises them, they seem to get all legal and make threats of lawyer action. This has just happened to Expats Portugal. We’re expecting our letter any day now.